Sometimes I read a piece of movie news and it makes my head go “ding-ding” in that way when something you see ends up reminding you of something way back in the recesses of your mind. I always liked to play four-square during my recesses….oh wait, wrong recesses. Anyway, when I read something about the movie, The Trial of the Chicago 7, it made me say, to myself, “didn’t I do a story on this a long time ago?” And the answer is, yes, I did. That was over a year ago, though, and things have changed.
Originally, it looked the film about the protests and subsequent trial of anti-war activists at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago would be directed by Steven Spielberg. Steven, however, is busy making his movie based on a Belgian comic stip, Tintin and his other movie about Honest Abe, Lincoln. So, either Chicago 7 was going to have to wait around for a few years or someone else needed to step up. According to the guys at Film School Rejects, it is the latter. If my brother is going to be bound and gagged and chained to a chair, then Paul Greengass is going to direct him doing it.
The Film School Rejects guys got the news from “Production Weekly” which lists Greengrass as the director, although no formal announcement has been made. I like Greengrass, he directed both films at the top of my “best of” list in 2007 and 2006, so I’ll probably go see this with him behind the camera. I just hope this doesn’t delay a possible fourth Jason Bourne movie. I wouldn’t want watching a bunch of hippies getting beaten by the man to interfere with Jason Bourne quick-cutting ass kicking.
